IEA say girls schools will reopen after Afghan new year

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government hopes to reopen all girls schools after late March, IEA spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Since the IEA takeover in mid-August, girls in most of Afghanistan have not been allowed back to school beyond grade 7.

Mujahid, who is also the IEA’s deputy minister of culture and information, said their education departments are looking to open classrooms for all girls and women following the Afghan New Year, which starts on March 21. Afghanistan, like neighboring Iran, observers the Islamic solar Hijri Shamsi calendar, AP reported.

Education for girls and women “is a question of capacity,” Mujahid said in the interview.

Girls and boys must be completely segregated in schools, he said, adding that the biggest obstacle so far has been finding or building enough dorms, or hostels, where girls could stay while going to school.

In heavily populated areas, it is not enough to have separate classrooms for boys and girls — separate school buildings are needed, he said.

“We are not against education,” Mujahid stressed.